With Tiger Woods off the PGA Tour since back surgery on March 31 and Phil Mickelson having a subpar season, golf has been missing a serious marquee player in 2014.

When Tiger and Phil are not around, what player drives golf fans to their TV sets on Sunday afternoon? Is anyone moving the ratings needle?

Adam Scott is No. 1 in the world. Nice player, nice resume, but a bit of a yawn with a long putter. Rory McIlroy has shown great promise, but his big news this year was a breakup with fiance Caroline Wozniacki, the tennis player.

There are plenty of outstanding players on the Tour, young and old, from rookie phenom Jordan Spieth to veteran Steve Stricker. Lots to see and marvel at, but who really gets the heart pumping?

How about Bubba? He just might be the man right now. Certainly around TPC River Highlands that has been the case for about six years now.

Bubba Watson, the lanky lefty from Bagdad, Fla., came on the Tour in 2006 and was a curious attraction simply because he hit the driver a mile. He left the Web.com Tour in 2005 with a driving average of 334 yards. That was his reputation when he got on the Big Tour, along with being a highly emotional, temperamental pain in the behind.

In the Cromwell environs and at the Travelers Championship, he is just one loveable Bubba.

Thanks to wife Angie and caddie Ted Scott, Watson has been able to rein in his temper, although the emotional side is pretty much the same. He can cry over spilt milk and just about anything else. Since winning the Travelers in 2010, Watson has five more victories, including two Masters. Each final putt in those victories unleashed a tsunami of tears. He can't help it.

It might have been a little uncomfortable to watch the first time at the Travelers, but now it is just part of the persona. The crying will come, and the under-over is about eight seconds from the time the ball hits the bottom of the cup on 18.

The way Bubba is playing this year, you might see some of his competitors crying in pain, but not his growing legion of fans. They are loving every tear — and every crooked drive and eagle putt.

Bubba can put on a show. He will blast both drives and wedges with a 90-degree hook or cut, making up shots as he goes along, highlighted by the stunning boomerang out of the woods to win the 2012 Masters.

The U.S. Open has been a problem for him, but the Open has been a thorn in a few sides. Mickelson is still searching, and the likes of Sam Snead, Nick Faldo and Greg Norman never found a victory there.

Despite missing the cut again Friday at Pinehurst, N.C., Bubba has been a favorite son since getting his first PGA Tour victory at the Travelers in 2010. He came from six shots behind the leader on Sunday to get that win.

Since then, Watson finished tied for second in 2012, and last year had a one-shot lead with three holes left, but let the win slip away with a triple-bogey at the par-three 16th hole. A misclub there resulted in a ball in the water, and he finished two shots out of a playoff between winner Ken Duke and Chris Stroud. He has given Cromwell crowds a lot to watch.

"People know he likes to play here," said Travelers Tournament Director Nathan Grube. "When he announces he is coming, even when he does it early, it creates quite a buzz. People have taken a liking to him, and they look at him as our champion.

"People like to root for him as a golfer and as a person. They root for the whole package. They know he is going to cry when he wins and he is not putting on a show. Even when we are alone with him, he is a goofy, honest guy."

This goofy guy is also playing at a higher level all the time.

He has won twice this year, including the Masters. He is the third-ranked player in the world, leads the PGA Tour in money winnings and is second in FedExCup points.

On the stat sheet, Watson is No. 1 in eagles made (nine in 11 tournaments), No. 1 in driving distance (314.2 yards), No. 4 in birdie average (4.24) No. 4 in scoring average (69.747), and No. 6 in greens in regulation (69.82).

For all his long-drive prowess, Watson has been hitting greens at a 69 percent rate for the last four years, always in the top 10 on Tour during that time.

After he won in Los Angeles in February, Watson said, "I think it shows my all-around game is getting better."

That was an understatement. Watson has the game and the personality to generate excitement and become the face of the game if there is an opening.

And the ego, it seems, is in check. That showed in his comments after winning the Masters in April.

"I just got lucky enough to have two green jackets," he told the media. "I'm just trying to keep my Tour card every year, and if people say I'm a good player, that's great. But I'm not playing golf for everyone to tell me how great I am. I play golf because I love it. The game has brought me everything that I've ever owned in my life."

And he owns the crowds that will jam River Highlands later this week at the Travelers.

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